by Kauakanilehua Mahoe Adams 
First sentence: “Mass begins at 10:00 a.m. on the dot, but we are late because I walked out of my room this morning in leggings and a sweatshirt and Dad lost his shit.”
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Release date May 19, 2026
Review copy provided by the publisher.
Content: There is swearing, sexual assault, and talk of sex. It will be in the YA section of the bookstore.

Aouli Smith is struggling. She’s unheard at home and school, she fights constantly with her “perfect” sister – it’s no fun being the younger, less perfect one – and she’s losing her best friend. The only safe place, her refuge is her Auntie Ehu’s house with the Native Hawai’ian community in Western Washington. But then, her life starts unraveling. She finds out a secret about her father, she is assaulted by a boy at church, she can’t hold in the secrets any more. But then, another Hawai’ian boy, Nalu, moves in, and maybe there is hope in the world again.

I’m doing the children’s buying at the bookstore again, and I stumbled on this one while going through the Harper frontlist. I was attracted by the cover and by the premise – I do love Hawai’i – so I downloaded the DRC, and started reading. But once I began, I fell in love with Adams’ storytelling and her way with words. The poems are beautiful, and I love the way Adams talks about faith, family, and tradition. It’s a gorgeous debut YA novel, and I hope I can find readers for it.